


Stargazing

by GoldenEye



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types, Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Genre: AU, M/M, Stargazing, Starnerd!Javert because of reasons, Valjean is a baker, valvert - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-03
Updated: 2015-08-03
Packaged: 2018-04-12 19:19:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4491618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldenEye/pseuds/GoldenEye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Valjean it was a night like any other this summer: dark, full of stars and sometimes the moon shined through the clouds.  <br/>For Javert it was a night he had imagined would end up in a very different way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stargazing

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote for http://neroushalvaus.tumblr.com/  
> A big thank you goes to my betareader on here worksofart

For Valjean it was a night like any other this summer: dark, full of stars and sometimes the moon shined through the clouds.    
To him the sky was unspectacular, it was always more or less the same.  
But for Javert the sky was so much more. He noticed every little change, he could name a lot of stars that were glowing in the dark. Once he showed Valjean the constellation of stars that made his zodiac sign. Valjean was impressed by this knowledge, and after months of stargazing with Javert, he was finally able to identify Mars in the sky, which he was kind of proud of himself for.    
So when Javert invited him for another lesson of identifying stars, he had never thought that this would change everything that was between them. 

 

For Javert it was a night he had imagined would end up in a very different way. It was a perfect night for stargazing, and since he was so used to the company of Valjean, he asked him to join him. In the back of his mind, he was planning to teach Valjean how to identify three stars and not only Mars. He wanted to share his knowledge with Valjean, who was not even remotely interested in astronomy.    
Javert would have never admitted it, but it meant the world to him that Valjean realized the beauty of the night sky.

 

Before it was dark enough to see the first stars appear, they had a picnic. In the basket was a bottle of wine- it was a habit of theirs that at the end of every meeting they share a glass of wine. But Javert wanted to save it for later. “You know what Valjean? Tonight I will try to teach you to identify three stars. I am sure you will be able to do it”, said Javert optimistically and smiled at Valjean, who was staring at him with wide eyes. 

 

“Are you sure? Don’t forget that I am a baker who has just learned to recognize Mars. Maybe we can start with only one star?”   
Javert chuckled, “There is something special about them so it won’t work.“ He reached for a cup of tea, took few sips, glanced at Valjean and added, “How could I ever forget that you are a baker? You make the best bread in Paris. Why shouldn’t you be able to gain a lot of astronomy knowledge? I am a police officer and you had once mistook me for an astronomer.” At the thought of that memory Javert laughed and soon Valjean joined.    
“It would suit you, but I know that you would never quit your work for the police”, Valjean said. 

 

They laid on the blanket, looking up to the night sky. Javert was pointing at a bright star. “That one, Valjean, is ‘Deneb’. And this one”, he moved with his finger down, “is ‘Altair’ and this”, he moved his finger up until it was again close to Deneb, “is ‘Vega’. They are the corners of the Summer Triangle. Each star is in a different constellation. Their names are Lyra, Cygnus and Aquila. But that is too much input for you today. Just focus on the stars”, Javert suggested.

 

Valjean liked when Javert explained something to him. During those times, the voice of the inspector was soft and soothing. It was easy to hear that Javert loved what he was talking about and those sparks of passion flew to Valjean.  
But this was merely one thing that the baker loved about him. At first the inspector was just the mysterious new man in the small town that rarely gets new citizens. When Valjean looked back at how they began to spend time together and build up a friendship it didn’t surprise him that he fell in love with him. 

 

Valjean wasn’t sure if Javert was aware that he had glimpsed at the real man behind the cool, stern mask the inspector usually had on. All he knew for sure was that Javert enjoyed his company and that was currently more than he could ask for.

 

“One of them is ‘Vega’- it is this one?” asked Valjean, and pointed at one of the three bright stars in the sky that Javert showed him previously.  
“You’re pointing at the wrong one. That is ‘Deneb’. They are very close to each other so it is easy to mistake them. ” Javert guided Valjean’s finger while he explained, “Here is ‘Deneb’ and now we move a bit to the right, a bit down and here we have ‘Vega’.” 

 

Javert felt that his heart was beating fast against his chest. His breathing was a bit more rapid than usual and he hoped that Valjean wouldn’t realize it. He had taken Valjean’s hand a hundred times before to show him stars. At first it was simply a method to teach him the positions of the stars but in the last few weeks it had become more of an excuse to touch the baker.  
Whenever he was close to him, he felt that there was something beyond friendship between them. If someone would have asked him, Javert would have denied that he wanted more than just Valjean’s friendship but to himself he admitted that this was the truth.

 

Javert didn’t realize that he had unconsciously intertwined their fingers. “Do you remember the name of the third star, Valjean?” he asked slightly dreamily. The closeness to Valjean and the beauty of the night sky above them made happiness bubble inside the police inspector. “Javert?” was all that Valjean could manage. He had seen that Javert was holding hands with him and realized that this didn’t happen on purpose. A part of him wished that it had been intentional.  
“No, that is not its name.” Javert turned his gaze away from the sky and to Valjean, when out of the corner of his eye he saw what might have been the reason why Valjean had said his name. He felt heat rush to his cheeks and drew back his hand in a hurry. “Sorry. It was not like you thought it was.“

 

Javert abruptly stood up and turned his back to Valjean. He didn’t want to look at the baker. Not after he had lied directly to his beautiful face. He was staring at the hand that held the one of the beloved man’s a few seconds ago. His inner self was shaking his head in disbelief. As if behaving like this would make the situation any better. It might get worse. Couldn’t he see how he was acting?

 

Suddenly he heard Valjean’s voice from behind him. “What should I think, Javert?” Javert could hear Valjean’s breathing, steady and deep. He could feel the baker looking at his back. And for some reason Javert had the feeling that Valjean would start to read his thoughts in the next second.  
“That I am up to something inappropriate.” The words came out slow and carefully enunciated, as if he had just learned them. As soon as he had spoken the words, he immediately knew that this was the wrong answer. Another lie. Suddenly he was lying to the only person he never wanted to lie to.

 

“Are you able to do such things?” Valjean chuckled. “You are the law represented in person”. He bit his lip. He knew that he was teasing Javert, and wished that the inspector would do something inappropriate to him. But then he stopped his naughty daydreams. 

 

This was the first time he had heard Javert mention something that was beyond friendship. The inspector avoided the emotional, sensitive topics and Valjean had always been fine with that and never asked for an explanation. Until that very moment, anything related to more than friendship was nothing they ever talked about.  
Valjean had loved Javert without dropping a hint. Now the baker asked himself if Javert had the same feelings for him too. Without a doubt, it could be possible. Would that mean for once, one of Valjean’s wishes was about to come true?

 

As soon as he heard the words Valjean spoke Javert blushed even more. Was the baker making fun of him? Did he really expect him to do something to him? The inspector could feel his fingers begin to tremble and he crossed his arms in front of his chest. The familiar, authoritative stance calmed him down a bit and yet he still wanted to escape from this place. He came here to stargaze with Valjean and now he wanted to be as far away from him as possible. 

 

Instead of doing just that and running off, he went without a word to the place where they had picnic earlier that evening. He sat down on the bench, back still turned to Valjean. Javert was aware that Valjean followed him. Why in the name of the Lord couldn’t he just leave him alone? Poor Valjean had no clue that he was about to play with a fire. A small one, but still one that could burn.  
Valjean sat down next to him on the bench. “Did I say something wrong? That was never my intention. Javert, please talk to me”. That pleading tone was too much for Javert. He had never heard Valjean like this.  
What happened between them? Was this the end of their friendship or would something new start? No matter what happened next, their relationship wouldn’t be the same after this night.

 

An irritated-looking Javert was facing a suspicious-looking Valjean. “You didn’t say something wrong.” While he was speaking he realized that his throat was as dry as the dessert. But what impression would he give to Valjean if he reached for the bottle of wine now? “I did something wrong and I don’t know why I did it,” admitted Javert.

 

“You did nothing wrong,“ Valjean assured and smiled at Javert and hoped that the inspector would now begin to think about the possibility that there was indeed something between them that they needed to talk about. Perplexed, Javert stared into Valjean’s eyes. He wanted to say something but the words died unspoken. A few attempts later he managed to whisper with a rasping voice, “Stop playing it down”. Javert’s eyes were reflecting the pain he felt deep inside his heart. “Damn it Javert. You should hear how you talk. You held my hand, there is nothing wrong with it.” Valjean couldn’t hold it back. “I actually liked it. I don’t get what your problem is.” After these words Valjean laid his hand on one of Javert’s arms, which were still crossed against his chest. Valjean could see that Javert crossed them more tightly now.

 

Unable to use his voice Javert tried to stand up but Valjean held him back. “It is strange to see Inspector Javert escaping a conversation. Your behavior irritates me. I am not able to understand you and I want to. Now sit next to me and don’t stand up before we have talked it over”.  
Javert stared at Valjean who suddenly became the one who controlled the situation and him. It was that instruction which showed him that he was acting like a fool.

 

He recalled to himself that Valjean confessed to him that he liked holding his hand. So could it be possible that Valjean had some kind of feelings deeper than friendship for him as well? He saw that the baker reached for the basket that was standing on the table, took out the wine bottle, the opener and one glass. He opened the bottle, poured wine in the glass and slid it over the table to Javert with the words, “Here, drink this. You’ll feel better.”  
Javert emptied the glass with one sip, aware that Valjean was watching him. “Thank you. I needed that.”

 

Could he really continue? Was the feeling that he had in his stomach right? It must be, he tried to explain to himself, because Valjean was looking at him in that knowing way. What would he lose? A lot, because Valjean was his everything and before he entered his life, Javert had no one. On the other hand he would win so much more than a friend.  
His inner self was scolding himself for being so indecisive and brought up the fact that his risky job never allowed him so much time to think about how to react.  
Finally Javert managed to add, “But I also need you, Jean.“ To his surprise he was able to smile at the baker, who returned the favour.


End file.
